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Pittyvaich
Pittyvaich was a single malt whisky distillery in Speyside and one of the region's shortest-lived operations of the modern era. It was established in 1975 by Arthur Bell & Sons, next-door to its distillery in Dufftown, and was intended to provide malt for the company's popular blended Scotch portfolio.
Arthur Bell & Sons were bought by Guinness in 1985 however, and its subsequent acquisition of Distillery Company and creation of United Distillers the following year saw the firm now massively oversupplied by its sprawling production portfolio. Pittyvaich was an early candidate for closure and was silenced in 1993 before later being demolished in 2002.
Given its enthusiasm for the single malt category, it is likely that Arthur Bell & Sons may have introduced a Pittyvaich single malt at some point. Sadly insufficient time between its founding and the acquisition of Bell's by Guinness allowed this to be a possibility. United Distillers did eventually introduce Pittyvaich to market however, launching a 12-year-old in 1991 as one of its Flora & Fauna collection brands. With only finite stock available after 1993 though, the expression was gradually phased out of production and discontinued by 2006.
Only a handful of limited editions have been produced by Diageo using its remaining casks, including Special Release bottlings in 2009, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020. It has also been available within the premium Prima & Ultima range and the Cask of Distinction initiative. Unusually, Diageo also used some in 2019 for its Orphan Barrel label in the US, traditionally reserved for North American whiskies.